VOODOO VILLAGE - THE SECRET MUSEUM OF MANKIND

The Secret Museum of Mankind is a bit like a National Geographic written by Nazis. It's racist, exaggerated, and often total bullshit, but still an incredible collection of photos of tribes from across the continents. Published in 1935, the pictures are accompanied by hammy captions that convey the prejudices of that time (basically that non-Europeans were all savages). See below for a selection of images that show "the magic and mystery in queer lands where the foot of a white man has rarely tread..."

IN THE FANTASTIC DRESS OF THE NOTORIOUS STRAW BOYSDuring the early years of the nineteenth century sections of Ireland were overrun by one of the many terrorist gangs that have from time to time existed there, known, from their peculiar but effective grass masks, as the Straw Boys. Through these masks they could see without being recognized, and their habit of dressing as women added to their grotesque appearance

EMU MAN PERFORMS THE TOTEMWith a head-dress representing the sacred totem of his group, this man is working magic that is to make emus abundant for the hunters of his tribe

AMAZONIAN HUNTER PROUD OF HIS METAL SPEARBesides bows and arrows, most of the forest Indians use the spear as a weapon of the chase. The shaft is of stout wood and the point or blade is usually of chonta palm, which is almost as hard as metal. A few spears are found with metal blades, probably taken centuries ago from the Spanish pioneers, and naturally are highly prized by their fortunate possessors

BURLESQUE DISGUISE OF BASUTO GIRL-BRIDESInitiation ceremonies are generally held before any young people can be admitted as members to adult tribal society; likewise before marriage the girls of Basutoland carefully observe a period of initiation. After receiving a new name each neophyte is whitewashed, blanketed, and masked, and in this guise undergoes many rites.

FLORAL MASKS HIDE THE BLUSHES OF SOME BULGARIAN BRIDESAll the bride's artistic taste is centred in her head dress; be she poor or rich, she endeavours to make it as gorgeously ponderous as the strength of her head will allow. Fortunately, this gigantic floral burden and cap of coins are not worn for long but are soon replaced by the popular, and certainly more effective headdress — the simple wreath of flowers and leaves

GROTESQUE TERRORS THAT CONFRONT A WEST AFRICAN YOUTH ON THE OCCASION OF HIS COMING OF AGEAwe-inspiring ceremonial attends the most important event in tribal life — the admission of the young men into the full rights of manhood. In South Kukuruku the initiation is performed once every three years by members of the Eliminya Society. They wear uncanny, somewhat insect-like masks with pendant tassels — always jealously concealed from the uninitiated and from women — a kind of tunic of loose cords, and crested helmets of palm-fibre

This grotesque face pattern in ridged flesh is known as a "full rasp." The man could only be photographed asleep; he fled the camera as witchcraft

FUZZY WUZZI WOMAN OF THE WESTHer way of gumming her hair over a great light framework connects her with the Beja Nile race and the Baggara Fuzzy Wuzzies who were broken at Omdurman

GILYAK WOMAN HAPPILY BURDENEDOf uncertain palaeasiatic origin the Gilyaks inhabit the north of Sakhalien Island and the lower Amur region of East Siberia. The peculiar length of the fingers and roundness of the face are noticeable in this mother with her triple ear-rings

ON THE THRESHOLD OF MANHOODCeremonial masks attain the acme of the grotesque in New Guinea. This astonishing confection is worn by boys in the Gulf Division when being initiated into manhood

"GOLDEN RAIN" OF DANCING SOUNDS FROM A MEXICAN MARIMBALike all Latin peoples, the Mexicans are exceedingly musical, and the Mestizos and Indians are also intensely fond of music and song. In the numerous plazas delightful music, excellently executed, resounds throughout the evening hours; the musician's masterly command of their instruments and the originality of the compositions supplying true "concord of sweet sounds"

MEN OF THE "NEVER NEVER LAND" IN TOTEM ATTIREThey have spent hours in decorating themselves in colours and birds' down. The tufted sticks rising from the heads of the men in the second row are in the nature of "nurtunjas," or totem poles, and have much magical meaning. Some snakes seem to be the totem of the group, that is to say, the divine animal ancestor that produced human children

This Ngombe chief displays a strange scar arrangement; more interesting is the man himself, with strong face, alien master of Congo country, famous for initiative

IMPOSING FIGURE CUT BY AN OVRA DANCER IN FULL REGALIASecret societies are a feature of native life on the West Coast. In November, when the dry season begins, members of the Ovra Society among the Ebo of Benin perform hidden magical rites for the good of the community, and then, masked and dressed in marvellous attire, and wearing enormous hats of parrots' feathers, emerge to perform a public daylight dance

FISH-FACED WEED-ROBED CELEBRANTS OF GHOULISH RITESAt specific dances and at initiation ceremonies, costumes are worn which represent various legendary and mythical figures, the precise significance of which has not been ascertained by ethnologists. These horrible fish-like masks, framed in white feathers, are used by the tribes along the Gulf of Papua

SISTERS OF A REMOTE TIBETAN NUNNERY IN WIGS, BEADS AND BRACELETSIt is rare indeed for such folk to see a camera. Living in complete isolation in an isolated land, difficult to access, the nuns of Tibet's religious houses have perforce to keep themselves strictly to themselves. The aged women wearing caps are lay sisters, old almost beyond humanity and inhumanly dirty. The rest are full-fledged nuns. These must shave their heads and assume great mop-like wigs. The largest of these matted coverings conceals the bald head of the abbess seated in the centre and wearing at her throat a charm-box studded with turquoises

FINAL ORDEAL BY ROASTING IN THE INITIATION OF YOUNG BEARDS INTO TRIAL SECRETSAs a lad, the aborigine is tortured and mutilated by his elders in the early rites of initiation. When he is a grown man, he undergoes an ordeal of fourteen weeks of endurance, ending with a double roasting. He lies on a log fire for five minutes. The fire is then made hotter, and down he goes for another five minutes, rapidly twisting about to avoid serious burns. At middle-age there is even another severe test

CAGE OF DEATH IN A LONELY PASSIf one could peer through the bars of this cage there would be seen a little rubbish on the floor of it. That rubbish was once a man caught thieving in the Lataband Pass from Afghanistan into Bokhara. He was placed in this iron cage at the top of the pole and left to die of hunger. These man-cages are a favourite Afghan method of dealing with criminals

PRINCESS NICOTINEBurmans smoke as soon as they can toddle. In the palace, this small princess's home, the cheroots are rolled in the white inner bark of the betel tree

OLD KAITISH WOMAN KNOCKING TOOTH OUT OF YOUNG GIRL TO MAKE HER MORE ATTRACTIVEAll the girl's teeth were sound, but the men of the tribe had lost interest in teeth extraction as a magic mystery, and instead of making it a male privilege, as tongue-piercing still was, let women, and even girls, have their teeth knocked out. And they were keen on it. The tooth, having been loosened by pressure with a stick, is being knocked out with three sharp blows. Afterwards, the girl danced with pleasure!

MISTRESSES IN ALL ARTS OF FASCINATING MENMulatto girls of the Ouled Naïls are works of art. Their hair and eyebrows are dyed blue-black. Their carmine lips and red nails are, like their picturesque coifs and rich and varied jewelry, additions to the tar-brush tint of skin. The cigarette is but an item in their sophisticated charms

HAULING TWO TONS OF HIPPO MEAT HOME TO THEIR VILLAGEWomen of the Kavirondo tribe, inhabiting the north-east end of Lake Victoria, are most enterprising. They pursue agriculture, herding, hunting, and fishing with their menfolk, and are their tribe's only "medicine-men." The flesh of some wild animals is greatly esteemed by the Kavirondo, particularly that of the wild cat and leopard; plucky and dextrous hunters, the fiercest hippopotamus and largest elephant invariably succumb to their traps and spears

SAVAGERY'S BLUNTED BLADENot long ago the axe of the Zomba headsman spread terror in the Shiré highlands. Now Zomba town is the capital of the British Government of Nyasaland

I have never read such a heap of crap in my life as your stupid uneducated comment about the straw boys. I suggest you wisen up janet before posting this rubbish.
The strawboys: Men who were uninvited to a wedding, made straw hats to conceal their identity then gate crashed, singing and dancing all night and keeping the newly weds awake. When you make comments about irish freedom fighters..get your facts straight.

I was looking for pages about how teeth are factors of one being considered as beautiful, but I never imagined coming across a blog like this. I never thought that there was a culture that actually promotes knocking teeth out so that one can be called beautiful. I guess there are some cultures like that. These days, I'd go to the dentist and have my teeth cleaned and fixed. I have a friend who told me that her dentist in Myrtle Beach, SC has made her teeth look whiter than before. She sent me a picture and I can really tell that her smile has indeed become whiter than it was before. She was a smoker back then. I hope I can go and visit this dentist in Myrtle Beach. I really want to have a perfect smile, too. Geez, I really wish I didn't start smoking in college.